Avalanche at Wild
THE STORY: The week can't end quickly enough for the Minnesota Wild, who look to end a dreadful stretch of hockey as they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in the opener of a home-and-home set. The Wild are 0-2-1 so far this week, a stretch that includes shutout losses to Los Angeles and Detroit and a loss to Montreal in which forward Devin Setoguchi wiped out on the game-tying shootout attempt. The Avalanche may be a tired bunch, having dropped an uninspiring 5-1 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins less than 24 hours earlier.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Altitude, Fox Sports North.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (33-29-4): While Colorado remains in the hunt for a postseason berth, this season will likely be looked upon as a major disappointment for Matt Duchene. The third-year center was one of the top young forwards a season ago, recording 67 points in 80 games. The 2011-12 campaign has seen Duchene deal with a combination of injuries and inconsistent play, leaving him with just 13 goals and 13 assists in 46 games. Duchene hasn't posted a multi-point effort since netting a hat trick Nov. 4 against Dallas.
ABOUT THE WILD (28-27-10): Having led the Western Conference earlier in the season, Minnesota found out exactly what it takes to be top dog this late in the season, getting soundly outplayed in a 6-0 loss to the Red Wings on Friday night. The Wild power play has been a major reason for the team's recent struggles, having gone scoreless in 10 chances over the course of its three-game skid. Of course, there's only so much the Minnesota offense can do to counteract a defense that has surrendered 14 goals over that same span.
OVERTIME:
1. Minnesota has won three of four meetings between the clubs this season, with each of its victories decided by a goal.
2. Dany Heatley's goal against the Canadiens put him at 20 for the season, the seventh consecutive year he has reached that plateau.
3. The Avalanche are 3-4-1 on the second day of back-to-backs.